Gun show goes on in Stamford

Jonathan Lucasand John Nickerson

Updated 10:14 pm, Thursday, January 3, 2013

STAMFORD -- While other area gun shows have been canceled following the shooting rampage that killed 20 first-graders and six teachers and administrators in Newtown last month, a gun show in Stamford is to go on as planned this weekend.

Promoter Westchester Collectors Inc., of Mahopac Falls, N.Y., is to hold one of the few gun shows that has not been canceled at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Summer Street on Saturday and Sunday.

Given the timing of the show and the city's proximity to Newtown -- about 30 miles -- Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia said "it would make more sense and be more sensitive to cancel" the event.

"I think the timing of it and the subject matter are totally insensitive given what happened in Newtown," Pavia said.

Calling them weapons of mass destruction, Pavia, a Republican, said assault rifles should be banned.

"The Second Amendment wouldn't have been written if these weapons existed at the time," he said.

A manager at the hotel said there have not been any calls about this weekend's show.

Similar shows promoted by Westchester Collectors have been canceled for next week in Waterbury and next month in White Plains, where Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said the show was not welcome back at the county-run exposition hall.

Calls to Westchester Collectors were not returned on Thursday. Another New York-based promoter, Big Al's Gun Shows, has also been forced to cancel several shows, including one scheduled in Danbury this weekend.

The East Coast Fine Arms Show is advertised as the "best of the best" of vendors offering 250 tables of "antique, modern, collectible and historical arms and accessories." The promoter's website informs dealers that "all federal, state and local laws and regulations will be followed!!!"

Among the regulations are background checks on all gun sales, according to the website.

Stamford Police Captain Richard Conklin said he has worked with the show's organizer for the past eight years, adding that they have always adhered to local laws and procedures.

"We will be carefully monitoring the show for both days and make sure they are complying with all the laws and regulations as they have in the past," he said.

Conklin said most people attending the show are collectors and traders and have pistol permits allowing them to buy guns at the show without a background check. He said many of the items at the show such as percussion weapons and guns and swords from the Revolutionary and Civil wars are extremely valuable collectibles worth more than $100,000.

Stamford Police Chief Jon Fontneau said he has been signing numerous gun permits lately and called the timing of this weekend's show "unfortunate.

"I don't have any knowledge of the show, but it is unfortunate that it is occurring in Stamford so close in time to Sandy Hook," Fontneau said. "But shows like these are not uncommon when you look across the country."